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A Guide to Commercially-Bottled Water and Other Beverages

If you drink commercially-bottled water, read the label and look for this information.

Commercially-Bottled Drinking Water Labeling Information

Water so labeled has been processed by a method effective against Crypto

Reverse osmosis treated

Distilled

Filtered through an absolute 1 micron or smaller filter

"One micron absolute"

Water so labeled MAY NOT have been processed by a method effective against Crypto

Filtered

Micro-filtered

Carbon-filtered

Particle-filtered

Multimedia-filtered

Ozonated

Ozone-treated

Ultraviolet light-treated

Activated carbon-treated

Carbon dioxide-treated

Ion exchange-treated

Deionized

Purified

Chlorinated

Commercially-bottled water labels reading "well water," "artesian well water," "spring water," or "mineral water" do not guarantee that the water does not contain Crypto. However, commercially-bottled water that comes from protected wells or protected springs is less likely to contain Crypto than water from less protected sources, such as rivers and lakes. Any bottled water (no matter what the source) that has been treated by one or more of the methods listed in the left column in the table above should be safe.

Other Beverages

Soft drinks and other beverages may or may not contain Cryptosporidium (Crypto) parasites. You need to know how they were prepared to know if they might contain Crypto.

If you drink prepared drinks, look for drinks prepared in a manner that removes Crypto:

Prepared Beverages and Crypto Risk

Drinks that ARE safe

Carbonated (bubbly) drinks in cans or bottles

Commercially-prepared fruit drinks in cans or bottles

Steaming hot (175 degrees F or hotter) tea or coffee

Pasteurized drinks

Drinks that may NOT be safe

Fountain drinks

Fruit drinks you mix with tap water from frozen concentrate

Iced tea or iced coffee

Juices made from fresh fruit can also be contaminated with crypto. For example, an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis occurred in Ohio whereby several people became ill after drinking apple cider made from apples contaminated with Crypto. You may wish to avoid unpasteurized juices or fresh juices if you do not know how they were prepared.